


a million dreams are keeping me awake

by lazyfish



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-Episode: s03e13 Parting Shot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 03:26:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16467761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazyfish/pseuds/lazyfish
Summary: A series of one-shots that follow Bobbi and Hunter's adventures in parenthood.





	1. "i think we should have another" [march 2019]

Bobbi sits in bed, twirling her red pen between her fingers as she stares down at the lab report one of her students had submitted. She can’t tell whether the report is incoherent or she’s just exhausted. Either way it seems like it’s time to put down the grading, and she sets both the paper and pen on the nightstand.

She’s considering what to do with the rest of her night when Hunter ducks through the doorway, tired smile on his face.

“Your daughter is a menace, Bob,” he says, kicking off his shoes by the door. “One more story, Daddy! Little bugger must’ve said that five times tonight.” Hunter strips off his socks, quickly followed by his shirt, before diving into bed next to her.

Bobbi laughs, wrapping her arm around Hunter’s naked shoulders. “Maybe if you didn’t keep reading her stories when she said one more, she wouldn’t keep doing it,” Bobbi suggests.

Hunter rolls his eyes. “Not bloody likely.” He reaches for a quick kiss, and she can’t help but smile at the soft press of his lips against hers. “I think we’ve all accepted that all three of them have me wrapped around their little fingers.”

“I know I have,” Bobbi agrees. She pauses, pressing her nose into Hunter’s hair and inhaling deeply. Bobbi doesn’t care how cliche it is to think that after all this time, he smells like home. He stills beneath her touch, no longer vibrating with mock-indignation or preparing a quick retort to whatever she has to say.

Hunter’s arms creep around her waist, holding her close. “Penny for them?”

“Just soaking it in,” Bobbi answers. It’s something she has to do every once in awhile; pause and appreciate the life they have. Five years ago, it would have seemed impossible for them to be here - they were divorced and still holding onto a lot of shit from their first marriage, and both of them had convinced themselves they were going to fail as parents for one reason or another.

Hunter drops a kiss on her shoulder. “It’s a good life.” It’s nice, Bobbi thinks, not to have to spend her time and energy convincing anyone that she loves her husband, and loves her life. She wiggles down in the bed so she’s face to face with Hunter, leaning her forehead against his.

“I think we should have another,” Bobbi blurts out before she can stop herself. Hunter blinks, but doesn’t rear back, or otherwise seem shocked by this revelation.

“Another baby?” The question is unnecessary, and they both know it.

“Yeah.” Bobbi can’t help the smile that comes to her face at the thought. “We’ve had Robin and Jay for a year now, and Cal’s turning three soon, and it just… seems like the right time.” Their life has settled into something resembling normalcy, so naturally that’s when Bobbi wants to disrupt it.

“It’s not because Robin keeps asking about her sister?” Hunter asks.

Bobbi rolls her eyes. Half the time she can’t tell whether Robin’s telling the truth about her visions or just using her imagination to paint a story. Lately she’s been obsessed with the idea of having a baby sister. Bobbi thinks it has more to do with her already having two brothers than the future actually holding a daughter for them, but… who knew.

“Definitely not,” Bobbi assures her husband. “But we have so much love left to give, and I think S.H.I.E.L.D. will get a little suspicious if we keep begging them for Inhuman children to adopt.” Bobbi did, of course, wonder if she ought to ask S.H.I.E.L.D. if they have Inhumans in need of a home anyways, but it seems unlikely to her, especially since the Terrigen has mostly exited the ecosystem.

“Us? Raise an Inhuman army?” Hunter scoffs, then pauses, mischief gleaming in his hazel eyes. “...Actually, that does sound like something you’d do.”

“Something _I’d_ do?” Bobbi asks indignantly. They had still been cuddling face to face, but she shoves him back from her. “You’re the one who took the pill!”

“And you would’ve too, if you were left unsupervised long enough!” That earns Hunter a pillow to the face for his insolence.

“I hate it when you’re right, do you know that?”

“Oh, always.” Hunter chances getting close enough to draw Bobbi into another kiss, and she lets him. The kiss is long and slow, the shape of his lips against hers is warm and familiar. Bobbi melts into Hunter with a soft groan.

“Wait until the kids are asleep,” Bobbi chastises, forcing herself to pull away from him. “I am not explaining the birds and the bees to our five-year-old.” They have a habit of barging into the bedroom to ask for a glass of water, or one last story, and Bobbi can only imagine her mortification at her children finding her _in flagrante_.

“It’s just kissing,” Hunter whines. “She knows what kissing is! And I was planning on kissing you for a long, long time before doing anything funny.”

“Mmm, you waiting to do funny things? Sounds fake,” Bobbi teases. She punctuates her point by walking her fingers up Hunter’s chest, daring him to stop her.

“You are going to be the death of me, Barbara Ann,” Hunter murmurs, wrapping his hand around hers. Bobbi’s expecting him to go in for another kiss, but he cradles her face in his free hand instead, looking at her with an intensity she’s not prepared for. “I’d do anything for you, you know that?”

“I do.” Bobbi has to resist the urge to duck away from his steady gaze, noting the shift of the mood in the room.

“I just need you to know that if you get pregnant again, the rules are the same as when we had Cal,” Hunter says. “You will always be my number one, alright? If it comes down to you and the baby, I’m picking you, no questions asked.”

“I know,” Bobbi whispers. She looks down at their intertwined fingers, sighing softly. “I hope you never have to make that choice, Lance.” If, God forbid, he ever does have to make that decision, she knows it’ll weigh on him for a long, long time.

“Enough depressing talk,” Hunter announces. “We’re happy, and we don’t need to ruin that.”

Bobbi allows him to maneuver her into a new position so they can spoon, Hunter’s chest pressed against her back. His breath is warm as his lips trace the faded scar on the back of her shoulder. Bobbi squeezes his hand tightly. “We’re happy, Hunter,” she reminds him. “That’s our past now.” They’re not ever going to forget what happened to her - what happened to them - during their time on Coulson’s team, but after declaring their life to be good, it seems silly to waste time and energy on things they can’t change.

“Tomorrow, let’s talk more about baby bird four-point-oh.” Hunter moves their joined hands to her stomach. “Right now I just want to hold my wife.”

“Right now your wife wouldn’t mind being held,” she whispers. “Shut off the lights, darling.”

Hunter disentangles himself long enough to jump out of bed and flip the light switch off, but quickly returns to her. He slots himself into place, years of holding each other making it easy to find where he belongs.

In the darkness, Bobbi whispers soft assurances to her husband that he’ll never accept in the light. In the darkness, their past disappears in favor of a future that is shining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few of things I have to say!  
> 1\. This was for the prompt "I think we should have another", given to me on tumblr. :)  
> 2\. The "Robin" referenced in the story is Robin Hinton, which leads me to...  
> 3\. I'm planning on expanding this in both directions - i.e., both what happened to lead Bobbi and Hunter to this point, and what happens after, so if there's anything you're particularly interested in seeing/a prompt you want to give, feel free to let me know in the comments or on [tumblr](https://huntxngbxrd.tumblr.com/).  
> 4\. Big thanks to [agentmmayy](https://agentmmayy.tumblr.com/) for giving this a quick read through for me. :)


	2. and this is how it starts [april 2016]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a motel room, Bobbi and Hunter's lives start over.

Hunter’s not sure how many motel rooms they’ve stayed in over the past two weeks, but what he does know is he’s sick to death of them. They all smell funny and the mattresses are too hard and it’s just - it’s not the same.

Bobbi’s taking it hard, too, though in typical Bobbi fashion she’s pretending everything’s peachy until she thinks that he’s not paying attention. Then she gets this sad, kind of far-off look on her face and starts twirling whatever object she has in her hands. Normally it’s a pen, and Hunter can tell that she misses the familiar weight of her batons. He adds that to his mental list of things to do: get Bobbi her own batons.

Speaking of Bob, she’s been in the bathroom for quite a bit. Hunter’s lips tug into a frown as he slides off the bed and towards the tiny bathroom. He taps his knuckle against the door softly.

“Everything alright, love?” Hunter tries to ignore the absurdity of the question given their current circumstances. Everything is  _ not _ alright because they’ve spent half a month on the run from practically the entire United States government, a good half of the Russian one, too. Why they’re on the run from the U.S. government is a mystery to Hunter - don’t they have better things to do than stalk two ex-agents? - but the fact of the matter is, he was stupid to think that being alright was in the realm of possibility.

Bobbi doesn’t answer. Hunter knocks again, louder. He’s trying to be polite but the disavowal has stirred up some unpleasant feelings - namely, fear over Bobbi’s life. S.H.I.E.L.D., for all of the ways it put Bobbi in danger, also protected her. She was surrounded by competent agents and had access to all sorts of resources to make her job and her life easier. Now there’s no safety net, and they’ve got a long way to fall.

“Bobbi? Can I come in?” After a full minute of waiting for an answer and not receiving one, Hunter twists the doorknob and finds that the door opens, much to his surprise.

The first thing he sees is Bobbi huddled on the floor, her back against the vanity and her knees against her chest. Her forehead rests against her knees, her blonde hair falling in front of her face to hide it all from view. She doesn’t move as he comes in, and Lance’s stomach twists uncomfortably.

“Bob?” Her head lifts up a fraction of an inch, but she puts it back down again almost immediately. Hunter moves to sit beside her, tentatively wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Bobbi doesn’t protest, sinking into his side.

“I think we might’ve messed up, Hunter,” she whispers. 

“Why’s that, love?” Bobbi finally raises her head again, and when she turns to look at him, there’s fear in her eyes. Hunter can’t remember the last time he saw her look this afraid. Even when she was dying in his arms, bleeding out from a bullet wound, she hadn’t looked like this.

Bobbi presses something into his hand, trying and failing to smile. “Congrats,” she says as he looks down at the pregnancy test she had just handed him. “Your boys can swim.” Despite the levity in her words, she still looks nothing short of terrified.

“Good to know,” he replies weakly. It’s positive - of course it’s positive, she wouldn’t have shown him a negative one - and suddenly Hunter knows why she’s so afraid. A baby? Them? Now? They had talked about it ages ago, when they were married, but Hunter had hardly expected a child to be a part of their lives anytime soon.

“I don’t know what to do.” Lance’s arm tightens around Bobbi’s shoulders, holding her closer. Her head slowly tilts until it’s resting against him.

“You don’t have to decide anything right now,” he assures her. He assumes that she’s only just taken the test, and must be as overwhelmed by the information as he is.

“I’m already a crappy mom.” Bobbi’s breath catches in her throat, and Hunter frowns at her statement.

“You’re not a crappy mum,” he tells her, kissing her forehead gently. He doesn’t know why she’s already convinced of that, but he knows his Bob, and he knows that she is going to make an  _ excellent _ mother one day.

“Hunter, I took five shots of tequila. And you  _ know _ that wasn’t all I had to drink. What if I messed the baby up?” She reaches a hand up to wipe a tear away. Hunter feels absolutely, totally useless. He can’t deny that it’s probably not great that she imbibed copious amounts of alcohol between when their child was conceived and now, but…

“You didn’t know, love. I doubt you’re going to go out and start taking shots now, are you?” Bobbi shakes her head as best as she can while it’s lying on his shoulder. “Then that’s really all you can do, isn’t it?”

“I guess so,” Bobbi mutters. 

They’re quiet for a while, both of them mulling over the information they’ve learned. 

“If I keep it…” Bobbi begins.

“I’ll be here,” Lance replies firmly. “You are my top priority, Bob. Always.” He can’t imagine walking away from her for any reason, even less so now that there’s a baby - or the idea of a baby - in the mix.

She moves one of her hands to her stomach. “And if I don’t?”

“I’m still here. I promise.” Yeah, the idea hurts a little, but Bobbi is his person. It’s her body, and it’s her choice.

“Will you make it call me  _ mum _ ?” Bobbi asks. She’s allowing herself to imagine a future with this baby, and Lance’s throat gets oddly tight for a moment.

“Dunno. Depends on how much you annoy me the next nine months.” Hunter grins at her, hoping that his attempt at a joke will make her smile. It does, and pride rushes through him.

“Eight months,” she corrects. “I think it’ll be born in November.” Leave it to Bob to know that.

“So we’re doing this?” Lance asks. He wants to be extremely clear on this matter. Things tend to get messy when they’re not on the same page, and he doesn’t want this to end in a fight, or in tears. 

“I mean, the situation’s not ideal, but…” Bobbi shrugs, sitting up. “I love you, you love me, we’re no longer employed in an extremely dangerous line of work…”

They both carefully avoid mentioning that there are people following them wherever they go, and that they’re probably on more than one international blacklist. Despite the sense of foreboding, Hunter allows himself a moment to feel warm at the frank admission of Bobbi’s affection for him. He knew, of course, that she loved him - why else would she put up with him? - but to hear it said was still nice.

“Do you still have that house in Oregon?” Bobbi asks. 

“The one in the suburbs?” He thinks he might have an apartment in Portland, too, so it’s good to clarify. She nods her confirmation. “I do.” 

“Oregon’s a nice place,” she hedges, unwilling to say exactly what she means. 

“Would be a good place to raise a kid,” he agrees. It has four bedrooms and a backyard. It’ll probably need some work done, since it’s been a long while since he’s used that particular safehouse, but they have time.

Her hand is still on her stomach, and Hunter tentatively moves his to cover hers. He smiles dopily at her. Their baby is under their hands right now. That’s crazy. 

“We should look for plane tickets.” Neither of them move despite the suggestion.

“Is it too early to start looking at baby names instead?” Hunter asks after a long pause.

Bobbi’s smiles thus far have been dim compared to the one she gives him now. It’s small, but it’s brilliant. “We’re having a baby,” she whispers.

“Us against the world, Bob.” Hunter says. It doesn’t actually sound like a bad thing anymore, for it to be them against the world. “The three of us.”

_ The three of us _ . That sounds nice.

He could get used to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! I did not expect to update this soon, but like... it be that way sometimes. Any suggestions you guys have to keep the timeline straight would be much appreciated - I'm not a big fan of putting indices in my stories, so I was thinking maybe dating chapters in the title/beginning notes?


End file.
